Chapter Seventeen: The Realm of Corpses

With a single thought, Lin Dong unleashed a domain that radiated outward from his center, enveloping the space around him. This was his awakened ability: the Domain of Corpses.

At his current strength, the domain extended only about ten meters, inadvertently covering Su Xiaorou, who was scrubbing the floor nearby. Her body instantly froze as if pressed down by some spectral force; she stood rooted to the spot, trembling all over. It was as though she were surrounded by mountains of corpses and seas of blood, an overwhelming terror spreading through her.

This showed just how powerful the Domain of Corpses was at suppressing humans.

“What… what’s happening?”

Su Xiaorou had no idea what was going on. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that Lin Dong, who had been sitting on the sofa watching television, had vanished without a trace.

Where was the boss?

Another ability of the Domain of Corpses was concealment.

But that was not all.

In Lin Dong’s eyes, the world was now tinged red. The once-solid wall appeared insubstantial, wavering like the surface of water. He stretched out his hand and, astonishingly, it passed through the wall.

Then his whole body followed.

Lin Dong traversed the wall, moving from the living room into the kitchen. Of course, this bizarre scene was invisible to others.

Another aspect of the domain allowed Lin Dong to ignore physical obstacles, passing through walls and objects, even burrowing underground if he wished.

Within this terrifying domain, if Lin Dong so desired, he could reach through flesh and extract another’s heart.

“What incredible power…”

Lin Dong murmured to himself, awed. It could kill, it could preserve life—truly perfect. An invisible, wall-passing corpse king; who could withstand such a force?

Yet, this ability belonged to the realm of spatial powers and consumed his mental energy, so it could not be used constantly.

Having passed through the wall into the kitchen, Lin Dong’s domain released Su Xiaorou in the living room. She collapsed to her knees, gulping for air, her whole body drained and exhausted.

“What happened? Where’s the boss?”

At that moment, Lin Dong pushed open the living room door, entering from the kitchen.

“This…”

Su Xiaorou’s eyes widened. Her boss had been sitting on the sofa moments ago—how did he come in from the kitchen? It was simply too eerie.

A sense of unease crept over her.

“Boss, what… just happened?”

“Nothing,” Lin Dong replied lightly. With his continued evolution, his ability to speak had fully returned; his words flowed smoothly and his voice was deep and resonant.

From outward appearances, he was indistinguishable from any ordinary human.

“Oh…”

Su Xiaorou responded, not daring to ask further. She returned to scrubbing the floor with renewed focus.

Over the past half month, Lin Dong’s three zombie followers had grown much stronger.

Tank had grown even larger. His height now exceeded two meters, muscles bulging like small mountains—a miniature Hulk, in fact.

The female zombie was faster than ever. Lin Dong had witnessed her hunting humans for food; she attacked like a gust of wind, her sharp bone claws leaving afterimages as she eviscerated her victims.

Her movements resembled a character from the fighting game King of Fighters—Yagami Iori. So Lin Dong named her “Little Eight.”

The strangest was the Doctor zombie. Not only did he enjoy dissecting humans and devouring their organs piece by piece, he had recently started dissecting other zombies, often splitting open their bellies or dismembering them, scattering various “parts” everywhere.

It was worth noting that these three zombie followers had recruited many more underlings. With the potential to become corpse kings, they could command other zombies, gathering around the building when idle.

Lin Dong allowed them free rein, letting them grow wild and unchecked.

He’d also noticed something: zombies on the streets were now running much faster, easily surpassing normal human speed. They were no longer stiff as they had been at the dawn of the apocalypse.

Clearly, they were evolving.

A wave of zombie evolution had begun, making them ever stronger.

“I wonder what’s happening on the human side?”

Lin Dong sat on the sofa, took out his phone, and began searching for information.

Humans who were still alive could still transmit signals.

As soon as he unlocked his phone, a notification caught his attention:

“Tech Biotech Company has developed a Zombie Elimination Plan.”

“Eliminate zombies?”

Lin Dong had heard of this company. It specialized in viruses and genetics, was exceptionally powerful, and was at the forefront of global technology—quite famous. It was much like the Umbrella Corporation in Resident Evil.

Tech was multinational, with a branch in Jiangbei City.

Lin Dong was curious—what exactly was the Zombie Elimination Plan?

He tapped to read further.

“We at Tech have developed the bioweapon ‘Hunter One,’ which can effectively eliminate zombies. It is about to enter mass production and be deployed to various units.”

Below the text was an image.

The so-called “Hunter” turned out to be a man-made bio-humanoid, nearly three meters tall, wielding a Gatling gun in its right hand and draped in bullet belts. On its back was a giant iron hammer.

Its enormous head was covered in suture marks, with centipede-like scars crisscrossing its face, creating a terrifying visage.

Lin Dong’s assessment: it was uglier than a zombie… He hoped it wouldn’t come after him.

Scrolling further, Tech had also issued a statement:

“All major companies have established shelters. Survivors may go there. Our company will ensure your safety.”

There were many survivor comments on the message.

“Tech is awesome. No wonder they’re at the cutting edge of global technology. Even in the apocalypse, they’re still around.”

“Everyone, don’t go to the Tech shelters! They just want to use humans for live experiments—they won’t protect us.”

“Isn’t it possible… Hunter One is made from live humans?”

“Yes, those who can should go to the official shelters!”

“……”

The comments were all over the place. Lin Dong stopped reading. The matter of shelters had nothing to do with him…

However, the next piece of news was extremely useful.

It came from the official shelter.

“Testing shows that some humans are evolving. They can run 100 meters in six seconds and deliver a punch with a ton of force. Experts say the source of this strength is the ‘brain pellet’ growing within their skulls.”

“If anyone feels itching in their head, it’s likely a sign of imminent evolution.”

As expected.

Humans were changing too, though so far, no one had awakened any special abilities.

According to experts, the “brain pellet” would eventually become a “crystal core,” at which point abilities would manifest.

Evolution was gradual.

No one suddenly gained powers out of nowhere—that was simply unrealistic.

Lin Dong believed that, with his abundant supply of flesh and energy, whether human or zombie, he would be the first to condense a crystal core and gain awakened abilities.

…